When it Comes to Sleep, Eight Hours a Night is Not a One-Size-Fits-All Solution

Sleep—and the fact that many Americans are not getting enough of it—is in the news a lot
these days.  We may intuitively know how important it is to get enough sleep, but a recent
report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) makes it more well-defined.   In their report, the CDC says that "Insufficient sleep is a public health epidemic," and points out that sleep insufficiency has been linked to accidents, cognitive problems, memory loss, and lack of focus.  People suffering from sleep insufficiency are also more likely to suffer from diabetes, hypertension (high blood pressure), obesity, depression, cancer, increased mortality, and reduced quality of life and productivity.

If all of this happens because of insufficient sleep, what is sufficient sleep?

Okay, so how much sleep is enough?  This is a question that has been addressed in the past with general, sometimes over-broad guidelines that suggested that adults need 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night, teens need 9 to 10 hours per night, and young children need at least 10 hours per night.

But these guidelines have recently been revised in favor of more specific recommendations
for specific age ranges.  The new recommendations come from the non-profit National Sleep Foundation (NSF) in a report published February 2, 2015, in the journal Sleep Health.  This report is based on a comprehensive review and analysis of over 300 published studies on sleep and health.  Chairman of the NSF Board Charles Czeisler said about the study:  "This is the first time that any professional organization has developed age-specific
recommended sleep durations based on a rigorous, systematic review of the world
scientific literature relating sleep duration to health, performance, and safety."

The updated guidelines break up the previous categories for both children and adults into
more precise age ranges.  They also expand the recommendations themselves by adding to the existing categories of "Recommended" and "Not Recommended" a new category,
"May Be Appropriate for Some Individuals".  An overview of the "Recommended" range is provided below:

      ·  Newborns (0-3 mo):  Range was narrowed to 14-17 hours (previously 12-18)

      ·  Infants (4-11 mo):  Range widened to 12-15 hours (previously 14-15)
      ·  Toddlers (1-2 yr):  Range widened to 11-14 hours (previously 12-14)
      ·  Preschoolers (3-5 yr):  Range widened to 10-13 hours (previously 11-13)
      ·  School Age (6-13 yr):  Range widened to 9-11 hours (previously 10-11)
     ·   Teenagers (14-17):  Range widened to 8-10 hours (previously 8.5-9.5)
     ·   Younger adults (18-25):  Range is 7-9 hours (new age category)
     ·   Adults (26-64):  Range did not change and remains 7-9 hours
     ·   Older adults (65+):  Range is 7-8 hours (new age category)

The full set of NSF guidelines, including the ranges for all three categories, is shown
below. They provide a useful starting point when discussing and reviewing your family’s
sleep needs.

Age	Recom-mended	May Be Appropriate	Not  Recom-mended
Newborns    (0-3 mo)	14-17    hours	11-13 hours 18-19 hours	< 11 hours    > 19 hours
Infants     (4-11 mo)	12-15    hours	10-11 hours 16-18 hours	< 10 hours    > 18 hours
Toddlers     (1-2 yrs)	11-14    hours	9-10 hours 15-16 hours	< 9 hours    > 16 hours
Preschool     (3-5 yrs)	10-13    hours	8-9 hours 14 hours	< 8 hours    > 14 hours
School Age     (6-13 yrs)	9-11     hours	7-8 hours 12 hours	< 7 hours    > 12 hours
Teenagers    (14-17 yrs)	8-10    hours	7 hours 11 hours	< 7 hours    > 11 hours
Young Adults  (18-25 yrs)	7-9     hours	6 hours 10-11 hours	< 6 hours    > 11 hours
Adults     (26-64 yrs)	7-9    hours	6 hours 10 hours	< 6 hours    > 10 hours
Older Adults    (≥ 65 yrs)	7-8     hours	5-6 hours 9 hours	< 5 hours    > 9 hours

Now, as the father of a 4.5 year old and a 3 year old, I realize that it’s virtually impossible to get the recommended amounts of sleep on a daily basis, whether you’re a child or a parent.  But, pay attention to your body.  You can’t “store sleep” by sleeping a lot before a stressful, sleep-deprived future event.  It is possible, however, to “catch up” on sleep afterwards.  Listen to your body and know if you need an extra hour of sleep.  Just don’t forget your amazing ability to rationalize what you want, and not necessarily what you need.  I, for example, always have a better day overall if I get my tired (and, ahem, occasionally lazy) body out of bed and exercise before work in the morning…not matter how wonderful that pillow and those blankets feel!